


Almost

by halcyonhowl (foxmoon)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, F/M, Fluff, Pining, Romance, Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, if you look closely enough Lup is pining too, mild acrophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 02:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21190304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxmoon/pseuds/halcyonhowl
Summary: Barry and Lup are alone together searching for the Light of Creation. A sweet little moment of pining ensues.





	Almost

**Author's Note:**

> nightingale-sang on tumblr sent me this prompt, thank you! 
> 
> Little warning for anyone who is acrophobic. This involves jumping from a high place, but the landing is safe thanks to magic.

Barry and Lup stand alone together overlooking a deep ravine. They’re out on a scouting mission, and have triangulated the Light’s location to be somewhere below them. This planet is made of endless ravines, cutting through thick jungle vegetation and rising out of frothy seas. It made finding a place to land nearly impossible, and they definitely can’t get the ship way down there. Too narrow. And the river that winds through the striated rocks has no bank worth standing on, let alone room for a ship. 

Barry takes one look down and sways backward. “Oh, fuck this place.”

Lup helps steady him, catching him by his arm. “Well, Barry, good thing I can do magic.” She smiles, eyes bright. 

Barry’s laugh is breathy and his nerves are already shot. Her touch lingers on his forearm, or perhaps that’s his imagination. Heat floods his face either way. “Uh, yeah.” 

She puts a hand on her hip and taps her chin. “I can float us down, but we have to jump first. I see a few ledges on the way, so that should help.” 

There’s absolutely nothing less he wants to do right now than jump off a fucking cliff. He can’t let her go alone, though. The wildlife here isn’t exactly the cuddly sort, and these ravines are prone to flash floods without warning. Not that he could do anything in either situation that she couldn’t do, but at least she wouldn’t be alone. 

He huffs a little and rubs the back of his head. “O-okay. I trust you.”

There’s a sideways smile on her lips. The sunlight makes her hair shimmer, and there’s a breeze that’s blowing strands gently around her face. He has a hard time looking away, but he does before she can see the absolute fear there just underneath the sincerity. 

Then he notices that she’s holding out her hand. They don’t _have_ to hold hands for this spell, if it’s the one he thinks it is. She knows he’s afraid, that’s all. He realizes he’s just staring when she wiggles her fingers. Their feet are so close to the edge, he can feel his stomach dropping already. He takes her hand, and from that moment on it’s all he knows. He wants to tell her he loves her, can feel it pushing its way up his throat. 

“Let’s do this,” she says.

He closes his eyes. They jump. There’s a horrifying moment of freefalling before she speaks the words and their descent slows. Her hand is warm and firm in his. He opens his eyes, and again, she’s smiling at him. Her face is a little flushed from the warm afternoon sun.

They make it all the way down to a little gravel-strewn bank by the swiftly flowing river. Barry is instantly forlorn at the loss of her hand as she goes for the translocator. 

“Oh, beans,” she says and looks across the river. “It’s over that way. There must be some cave it fell into.”

Barry laughs. “Of fucking course it did. Well, we almost had it easy this time.”

Lup bumps him playfully with her shoulder. “Yeah. Almost. But then it wouldn’t be as much fun.”


End file.
